White Buffalo
My commentary on “Buffalo: In Bloom” relates my interests in buffalo and the acquaintance that I’d had with the herd at the Wichita Mountain Range near Lawton, OK. At the time that I made that painting I had not seen that herd in 20 years, but was influenced toward the subject by a fond memory of the Wichita Mountain buffalo. Between the time of that painting and this one I had visited the herd at least three times. When I had made the previous buffalo painting the buffalo was somewhat of a representative of my home state, but further visitations to the herd increased my appreciation of the animal itself.The American Bison was once very common across the entire nation, but the white man made an effort to entirely destroy the species in an attempt to essentially take siege of the Native American, who relied heavily upon them. At one time the species was thought to be extinct. Fortunately there were insulated herds that had gone unnoticed. Today they are well enough protected that they are no longer considered an endangered species.
Native Americans continue to place much importance on this animal. The bison is, to them, synonymous with their ideals of their own independent existence prior to the arrival of the European American. The visions imparted upon the participants of the Ghost Dance often include teams of buffalo. I also came across a beautiful Kiowa legend, apparently written at the time that the white man was busy trying to drive the buffalo to extinction, in which the tallest mountain in Oklahoma's Wichita Mountain Range, Mount Scott, opens up to allow the last herd of buffalo to walk in, where they will live protected in a subterranean paradise.
To the Native American a white buffalo is a divinity. White Buffalos are uncommon, and when one is born it is considered to be a supernatural event. Again, I have no personal investment in the culture of the Native American, but relate to it as a unique element of my homeland region and childhood experiences. I do have an appreciation of the American Bison, and admire it’s magnificence and indestructibility. The more I’ve learned of it’s history, it’s importance, and it’s incredible persistence, the more it seems to me to be an actual supernatural animal.